Sourcing an XPAN 2 in Hong Kong

[quantum-x]

Hi guys. First post 🙂

I'm chasing down an xpan2 - from what I've read while lurking, the best place to get them price wise is Hong Kong or Japan.

As it happens, I'll be off to both places in a few weeks - but I'm really keen to source an xpan 2 in hong kong.

Has anyone else purchased one there before - or know some good contacts / shops there where I could pick one up? Despite being a gwailo, I know my wayu around HK quite well, and really excited to pick one up.

I've emailed a few dealers that I've seen referenced in old forum threads, but with no reply yet.

Seems the standard price for a xpan2 w/ 45 and a few extra trinkets is about 3k or so US$. If I could get the 30mm for a decent price as well, I'd swallow hard and do so.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Obligatory geek bits - currently shoot on a Canon 1DS - use my 1VHS for film, and have a Lomo LCA and a Horizon 202 [fun, but not XPAN level fun 😉]

Thanks,
Simon

 

[quantum-x]

It would appear that from the 6 or so people I've emailed, they all say getting stock is proving to be painful.

I'd be happy enough to get a TX-2 if it would improve my chances - does this change my luck in getting some references from you guys?

Thanks!
Simon

 

[webdog]

Dear Simon,

As you know, it's hard to find xpan 2 in hongkong, because of discontuning to product this camera anymore. I went to Stanley St. where a few camera shops are, but I couldn't find it in there. But you can find it in TST. I called them yesterday, and they told me they have stocks. Shop's name is "Tin Cheung Camera Company". Address is "Shop 5, Friends' House, 6B Carnarvon Road, TST, Kowloon, HongKong". Telephone number is "(852)27221265". And they told me the price is about 25000 HKD. Please check it out.
Also you can find it in Shenzhen, China. You know it's very close to HongKong. I checked that Shenzhen's reseller has one stock but it's not standard package. It has camera body and 30mm lens. And the price is 41000 RMB. They told me 30mm lens' price is 22500 RMB.

I hope these informations will be helpful for you.

Scott

 

[quantum-x]

Dear Simon,

As you know, it's hard to find xpan 2 in hongkong, because of discontuning to product this camera anymore. I went to Stanley St. where a few camera shops are, but I couldn't find it in there. But you can find it in TST. I called them yesterday, and they told me they have stocks. Shop's name is "Tin Cheung Camera Company". Address is "Shop 5, Friends' House, 6B Carnarvon Road, TST, Kowloon, HongKong". Telephone number is "(852)27221265". And they told me the price is about 25000 HKD. Please check it out.
Also you can find it in Shenzhen, China. You know it's very close to HongKong. I checked that Shenzhen's reseller has one stock but it's not standard package. It has camera body and 30mm lens. And the price is 41000 RMB. They told me 30mm lens' price is 22500 RMB.

I hope these informations will be helpful for you.

Scott

Thanks for the info scott - I definitely Appreciate you taking the time to make a few calls for me.

It may be interesting for others for me to post my mileage here too:
- Dr Joseph Yao no longer carries or deals w/ Hasselblad - esentially because the supplier has pushed the prices up too high - about 4,065BASE $AU.
- This is reflected in most new ebay sellers- and looks the same for the TST folks.
- The price you managed to dig up in Shenzen (41k Yuan) seems to come to about 6,700AU - which also seems to be sticking to those price ranges [~1800US for the body only, 2400US for the 30mm ~ ~4200US -> 5.5kAU]
- The other option I have was from Anthony [from accphoto.com] - who said he can get me the TX-2, w/ 45mm & hood, with the 30mm & center filter for 4800US > 6.3k AU

Anthony's deal definitely seems like a very good one.
Obviously, but I'm sure it's something everyone here is familiar with - $6.4k is a large whack of money - just as much as my digi Canon 1DS - I'm just worried about a few things, I guess.

- I mainly do night photography - so love the wideangle - but w/ the center filter for the 30mm - it drops down almost for f11 - which is just way too slow for me.
- That said, it seems everyone who shoots on the xpan/tx say that the 30mm is just what defines the camera.
- 😕 😕 😕

Anyone have any input in to this?

Thanks again!
Simon

 

[Carrotblog]

Seems the standard price for a xpan2 w/ 45 and a few extra trinkets is about 3k or so US$. If I could get the 30mm for a decent price as well, I'd swallow hard and do so.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.


Thanks,
Simon

Hi Simon,

That seems like a lot of carrots that money can buy for a tiny 35mm extended format camera. Would a decent 6x12cm panorama camera cost anymore than what you've been quoted?

A Horseman SW612 camera with a Rodenstock 55mm lens or a Schneider 47mm XL might work out similar in cost.

I have a bog. I am a blog.

http://carrotblog.livejournal.com

 

[quantum-x]

It's definitely a connundrum. I've had other pano cameras, such as the horizon etc - which are fun, but their inherent design frustrates me (Ie, swing lens is great, but does nothing for bulb exposures, or the 'bulging' it produces)

I'm hesitant to go to 'true' medium format, just because all the reasons I loved leaving film come back in trumps - film for pano is something I could handle 🙂

Looks like I might just have to return to the drawing board, $6k worth of carrots are a lot!
Thanks again
Simon

 

[Carrotblog]

just because all the reasons I loved leaving film come back in trumps..

Such as...?

The tonality of those 612 negatives are fantastic. Just thinking that a Bronica SqAi with a 35mm wide-back would give you a 24mm x 65mm, which comes close to the Hasselblad's negative frame size for less than 1/5th of the cost. Or a Mamiya 7ii with a panoramic adapter.

But none of that matters if someone really wants an Xpan 😉

The Horizon isn't as flexible. May be you need something like a Silvestri Bicam which you can then use with a digital sensor or a a 6x12cm film back.

That's still cheaper (used) than a Hasselblad XPan...

$6k worth of carrots are a lot!

😀

I have a bog. I am a blog.

http://carrotblog.livejournal.com

 

[Terence T]

Another option to consider is the Mamiya 7 with the panoramic adapter. It is a bit more of a hassle to load than an Xpan but the body does give you the option to work on MF too. The adapter allows a 135 roll to be loaded, frames are 24x65 just like the Xpan. The wide lens on the Mamiya 7 is the 43mm f4.5 (equilvalent to 21mm on a 35mm format) doesn't require a center filter and should be fast enough for most uses. The lens costs a lot less than a Xpan 30mm too. Used copies of the Mamiya 7 II + 43mm in EX or better condition go for about $2000 or less.

The Xpan 30mm is great but really not any better than the 45 or 90, imo. I found the 30 to be rather bulky, especially with the external viewfinder attached (the Fuji finder is more convenient to use as it snaps on over the hotshoe, unlike the Hassey version which positions itself over the viewfinder window). You've already mentioned the slowness of the lens so I don't have to get into that. I have since gotten rid of mine and rely on the 45 and 90 for great results.

 

[quantum-x]

Thanks for the helpful responses again 🙂

My parting jab toward film was simply that digital convenience is great, especially if you're lazy. Not so much the click-click-click aspect (which when you're taking 10 minute exposures doesn't happen anyhow), but more the ability to dump off the memory card.

Obviously, you don't get the pleasure of shooting film, getting slides back, having the variety of films to play with, etc. I was / am definitely looking forward to running some Fortia through the XPan.

Personally, the appeal to the X-Pan is a combination of things. For one, hey, it's an XPan.
But the other appealing factors are its size, build and features. I've always wanted bulb on a panoramic, and the fact it shoots 35mm means I can go back and pester my friend at the lab 😀

I might just end up getting the 45mm, and learning to love that. In six months time, I'll have forgotten the pain of spending, and will probably do soemthing stupid like buy the 30mm 😀

 

[Terence T]

Do take note that the max bulb exposure time is 9 mins with substantial drain on the battery.

 

[quantum-x]

Do take note that the max bulb exposure time is 9 mins with substantial drain on the battery.

Oh really? I would have thought / hoped it would have been mechanical enough to be not much of an effort.

Do you have some quantative stats for that? Would I have to pack a utility belt with a battery disposer at both ends just to keep it juiced?

 

[Terence T]

I don't use bulb on mine. That information is from the user manual. The shutter is electronically actuated and there is no mechanical backup. The camera uses 2xCR2 batteries, readily available but they don't exactly come cheap. Battery drain obviously isn't like a DSLR but with normal usage, the batteries last about 35-40 rolls. You can expect that number to dwindle to less than 20 rolls with a few long bulb exposures, according to what I've read of experiences by other users. Worse case scenario would be the batteries dying in the middle of a long exposure. The battery life indicator is quite accurate.

 

[berci]

Hey Quantum X,

The 30mm lens is good when you need/like extra wide angle, it's great indoors or when there is something in the foreground to fill the frame.

Personally I prefer the 45mm but even with that you have to go close to things.

The 90mm is great for landscapes and portraits.

Berci

 

[quantum-x]

Thanks for the tips guys.
If it helps, I shoot this kind of stuff

http://ninjito.com/dump/2006-05-05/qx-bo06-8.jpg
http://ninjito.com/dump/2006-05-05/qx-bo06-2.jpg

 

[berci]

You definitely need the 30mm lens.

 

[quantum-x]

You definitely need the 30mm lens.

:'( I'm going to be a very poor rabbit.

 

[tron]

Simon,

I have used the 30mm (I do not own it). It is a great lens, just like the other two, but it is simply not worth it, given the price and (in my opinion) the fact that it requires an external viewfinder. The latter throws away all the advantage of an XPAN (for that matter I own the TX-2).

Last time I checked, which was less than a couple of months ago, at Tin Cheung, TST, HK, a TX-2 with a 45mm plus the hood and a ND filter was asking for less than 20K. The 90mm was less than 5K and the 30mm was within the region of 14K - all in Hk dollars of course.

I also work on night shots with the TX-2 and I have a picture of the Victoria Harbour in my gallery. Since you come from Singapore, which has a similar urban coastline, you may want to have a look to ponder upon whether you really need to spend that kind of money on a 30mm.

My viewpoint about this lens posted at another thread XPAN vs. 617 may also help.

Cheers.

 

[quantum-x]

Hey guys-
Just as a follow up here. I ended up getting the Xpan II From Anothy Lee in HK - fantastic camera, great guy to deal with.
I put about 15 or so rolls of slide [lots of Fortia - god bless Japan!] through it over the last month or so on my travels, and now I've got a question, which may or may not be appropriate for this forum -

Decent slide / film scanners that do panoramic..
Can anyone lend any recommendations in this area? I've spent a few hours researching this morning without too much luck - most reviews / specs are limited 'handles strips of film', but often have dividers on the holders, so any input would be appreciated!

Thankyou kindly
Simon

 

[photogdave]

I use the Minolta Scan Multi II. I'd like to afford the Pro model one day. All the panos in my gallery are scanned from it. I'm happy with the results.

 

[quantum-x]

I use the Minolta Scan Multi II. I'd like to afford the Pro model one day. All the panos in my gallery are scanned from it. I'm happy with the results.

Thanks for the feedback!
From what I read about this model, it seems that it's a slightly older style scanner (ie, no USB etc) - how does it stack up against some other newer models (such as the pro one, etc)